Black orc
Black orcs are a subrace of gray-green skinned orcs featured in the Warcraft series. They are members of the Blackrock clan, Laughing Skull clan and Black Tooth Grin clan. A majority of them are currently with the Horde. Overview The Blackrock clan was an orc clan best known for leading the charge during the First War and Second War. During that time period, it was one of the largest and most feared of the orc clans however their defeat in the second war along with political dissention led to its decline. A faction led by Rend and Maim in the second war formed the Black Tooth Grin Clan to secure power after Blackhand was deposed. During the time of the Internment camps, many Blackrock orcs joined with Thrall's new Horde. During the Third War another faction of the clan tried to summon demons, while another group is still fighting both the Alliance and the Horde and is known as the Dark Horde. By the time of Mists of Pandaria, the former Warchief Garrosh Hellscream has granted Rend's faction of the clan amnesty and recruited a formidable amount of them into the ranks of the Horde. History For years, the clan had many victories under the guidance of their powerful leader. While numbers of them thought it was just luck, the reality was different. Their leader was a brilliant tactician who always found the weak point of the enemy. There are years Orgrim, thinking to have found a plan, brought the Doomhammer where it was forged to switch weapon while retaining power. However, the furies there saw that fear and pride. It took him a hammer and blockaded the heart of the lava lake. For years, the orcs clan tried to take it to the power and glory goal but they all eventually burned by lava. Only the bones remained at the lake as proof of their failure. Without the hammer in the hands of Orgrim, the clan lost a first time against ogres. The Blackrock clan was surrounded at the Foundry. They were outnumbered and unarmed. However, ogres in the morning waiting to attack. Their leader was reflecting on the way to defeat the enemy without seeing any outcome. The clan is slowly going to die within the walls or outside face of ogres. He had an idea and joined Orgrim. The latter sat contemplating the hammer. He recalled his pride, he was ready to give his life for the clan on orders from his chief whether on the battlefield or in the lava lake to retrieve the legendary hammer. The chief refused, it was he who would take the hammer. He ordered Orgrim to lead the assault before dawn tomorrow. The hammer was their last hope, today the survival of the head did not matter. He plunged his hand into the lava and tried to grab the hammer. The lava covered the body of the chief and told him about the furies future and for many it was not a shaman. Amazement reads in the eyes Doomhammer when his head came the hammer of the lake. But the victory was not gained, he showed the hammer to his troops to notify them of victory. The furies had sent him the knowledge to use the legacy of Doomhammer family to forge weapons throughout the night. In the morning, freshly armed orcs charged behind their leader armed of Doomhammer on the army ogre. Victory was theirs. A new day deserves a new name, their leader was badly burned his hand by taking the hammer in the lake, he would call now Blackhand. The furies have granted the hammer during a single battle, so he went to Orgrim. In addition, he had a different fate. Laughing Skull Clan's History Before the formation of the Horde, Frostwolf clan and Laughing Skull clan battled against each other. The Laughing Skull clan was present at the Throne of Kil'jaeden when Gul'dan offered the Cup of Unity. Laughing Skull: Beyond the Dark Portal The clan battled against the Thunderlord clan at the beginning of Ner'zhul's plans. Eventually, they joined rest of the Horde of Draenor. However, Obris, right after Ner'zhul betrayed the Horde and left Draenor, told Khadgar that the clan was forced to join. When the elder shaman Ner'zhul first began developing his plan to open more Dark Portals, he required the knowledge of a specific order of death knights who knew how to rebuild the original Dark Portal. Mogor, the renegade ogre-mage of the Laughing Skull clan, had taken control of this group of death knights and was using them for some dark purpose of his own. Ner'zhul ordered a small force of orcs, ogres, and a death knights from the Shadowmoon clan to attack the Laughing Skulls and subjugate Mogor's death knight, although the death knights were using the color of the Shattered Hand clan, they were secretly manipulated by Mogor. Ner'zhul forces rescued Grom Hellscream, who had been held prisoner by the Laughing Skull clan, and with his help the attack was carried out successfully and Ner'zhul gained the knowledge required to open to portal back to Azeroth and begin the next stage of his plan. After the reopening of the Dark Portal a group of Laughing Skull warriors crossed it, they established near the citadel of Nethergarde, there they fought against Danath Trollbane and his army, in this battle all the Laughing Skull warriors on Azeroth were killed by the Alliance of Lordaeron. When the human armies invaded Draenor, the Laughing Skull clan defended of the Alliance Expedition with a daemon and skeletal warriors but were defeated. Then the Alliance Expedition invaded the shipyards of Zeth'kur, with this the clans were driven to new heights of fury, one of the nearby island of Zeth'kur had a Laughing Skull encampment and was destroyed by the Alliance. After defeating Deathwing, the Alliance attacked the Skeletal Coast, one of the islands near the coast had another Laughing Skull encampment, the clan's warriors were defeated, however they delayed the Alliance and before they could attack the Fortress Shadowmoon, the Laughing Skull stole the Book of Medivh from Ner'zhul. When the Alliance Expedition went in search of the Book of Medivh, they sided with Mogor and his clan. In exchange for the dominance over the northern clans of Draenor and securing the passes across the Blade's Edge Mountains, he promised to deliver to the humans the Book of Medivh. The Alliance forces had now formed a truce with the Laughing Skulls. Khadgar, Alleria, Turalyon, and their strongest warriors reinforced Mogor and the Laughing Skull clan and stopped the Bonechewer clan, then attacked a stronghold of the Thunderlord clan (possibly Thunderlord Village) and destroyed it, gaining the control of the region. Mogor was uncharacteristically true to his word, and managed to escape the wrath of the shaman Ner'zhul, when the world of Draenor tore appart, Mogor and his clan went with it. After helping the Alliance obtain the Book of Medivh, Mogor and his clan apparently remained with their newly won lands as the Alliance continued on to the Dark Portal. While the Shadowmoon clan fled through one of the newly created portals there is no sign that Mogor and the Laughing Skull clan did the same. By the time the adventurers first visited the Outland, the Laughing Skull clan have become fel orcs. Pre-Corruption and the First War Prior to the orcs' corruption the clan was led by Blackhand the Destroyer. During the war against the Draenei, the clan was chosen to perform the first orcish attack (against a Draenei hunting party), due to the clan being based reasonably near Telmor, one of the smaller and more isolated Draenei cities. Soon afterwards, Blackhand fell to the manipulations of Gul'dan, becoming a mere figurehead for the warlock. Near the end of the First War, Blackhand was challenged and killed by his lieutenant, Orgrim Doomhammer. Doomhammer seized control of the clan and slaughtered the members of the Shadow Council, the biggest threat to his throne. The Second War Blackhand's sons, Rend and Maim formed a faction of Blackrock orcs loyal to them into the Black Tooth Grin Clan. The clan's forces achieved a number of victories during the Second War, though the betrayal of Gul'dan forced Doomhammer to divide his forces and send a part of the clan to hunt him down and slaughter his followers. The event weakened the Blackrocks, who were eventually defeated and nearly destroyed during the assault on Blackrock Spire, and Orgrim Doomhammer was himself captured and sent to Lordaeron in chains. The Blackrock clan did not disappear; though; the few remaining orcs who had not been captured or killed at the battle returned to Blackrock Spire and began to rebuild. During this time, the Black Tooth Grin Clan formed back into the Blackrock Clan under Rend's leadership. Unlike the other orcs, they remained steadfast to the ideals of the old Horde, including demon worship and depraved blood lust. They became a beacon for orcs who longed for the old days, and soon enough their ranks began to swell again. The Third War In the intervening years between the Second War and Third War, the Blackrock clan became a major problem for the Alliance. A faction in Lordaeron under the leadership of Jubei'thos re-embraced their demon-worshipping heritage, staged raids on a number of defenseless Alliance towns, and sacrificed their villagers to the Legion. They did this because their warlocks told them that demons would rain from the skies and the world would burn (referring to the coming of the Burning Legion in the following months). During the Third War, most of the Blackrock forces in Lordaeron were killed by Arthas and Kel'Thuzad's Scourge. Jubei'thos and his lieutenants had in their possession a demon gate which Kel'Thuzad needed to communicate with Archimonde. However, many other members of the clan, who were captured and being held prisoner in the internment camps, joined the modern Horde under Thrall when he freed them or were part of the portion still loyal to Orgrim Doomhammer. He was a mentor to Thrall, and the orc capital of Orgrimmar was named after him. Regardless, the Blackrock orcs in the New Horde don't seem to have maintained a strong clan identity unlike their cousins within the Dark Horde. They appear to see themselves firstly as Horde orcs and only secondly as Blackrock orcs. Aftermath of the Third War Currently, the Blackrock clan still mainly resides in and around Blackrock Spire under the leadership of Rend Blackhand, where they war with the Dark Iron dwarves for control of the area. Their holdings also include territory in the Burning Steppes and the Redridge Mountains. They have formed the Dark Horde and have become a dire threat to nearby towns like Lakeshire, whose defenses are severely strained against their raids. It has also been rumored that they have allied with a group of black dragons led by Nefarian, Deathwing's son. They are but one of the pawns Nefarian is using to undermine the human kingdom of Stormwind. The Cataclysm Blackrock orcs play a major role in the invasion of Northshire Valley. They are a major threat in the Redridge Mountains as well. In the Burning Steppes, they are preparing for a massive assault on Redridge Mountains. Alliance heroes repelled the Blackrock orcs from the Kingdom of Stormwind and the Dark Horde army was crippled in an offensive in the Burning Steppes. Due to Nefarian and his father's return they have allied themselves with Deathwing and have become allies with the Twilight's Hammer clan. Tides of War The Blackrock clan was granted amnesty by the Warchief of the Horde, Garrosh Hellscream, who has recruited a formidable number of them into the ranks of the Horde. His own bodyguard, Malkorok, is of Blackrock descent, and an increasing amount of the elite Kor'kron are now ruthless Blackrock warriors. They serve as something akin to a secret police force, ensuring the loyalty of other Horde races (and, in some cases, orcs), while abducting, brutalizing, and in some cases even murdering those they deem treasonous or troublesome. Siege of Orgrimmar & the Aftermath Since many Blackrock orcs recruited by Garrosh joined the Kor'kron, they suffered heavy casualties during the siege, including the death of their leader, Malkorok. After the siege, the clan started to rebuild the Horde and recover from the civil war along with the other Horde members. Warlords of Draenor The Blacrock clan was the first to join the Iron Horde. After a mysterious prophet (Garrosh Hellscream) gave detailed schematics, Blackhand marshaled the Blackrock clan to industrialize warfare on a colossal scale. During the Assault on the Dark Portal, the Blackrock clan tried to stop the invading forces. Their attempts failed, and the Blackrock Quarry was flooded as a result. In the end, the Blackrock orcs lost their warlord during the siege of their Foundry. The Laughing Skull clan, led by Kaz, has allied themselves with Vol'jin's Horde, in effort to defeat the Iron Horde. They collect resources for Frostwall, the Horde garrison. Appearance Black orcs have gray-green skin because they had spent years without seeing the light of day, dwelling deep inside Blackrock Mountain. The black orcs found in old Draenor also possess gray skin, due to their work in the Gorgrond mines. Culture After the fall of Telmor on Outland, Gul'dan offered the former draenei city to the Frostwolf Clan, but Durotan refused and decided to stay in Frostfire Ridge. The Blackrock clan, however, began living in the town, and many of the orcs began using draenic cloths and robes as everyday clothing, melding the unique style into their own culture. Despite many dents and scratches, you can see the Blackrock clan iconography etched in to this once-proud hammer. The first of the Orc clans to master the art of shaping their namesake metal, the Blackrock prefer to wield blunt weaponry in battle to honor their ancestors. The black orcs originally used the naturally occurring elemental-fueled infernos of ancient Draenor to shape and harden their namesake ore. A shaman could use these bellows to channel the power of a fire spirit directly to a blast furnace, allowing the Blackrock to set up forges anywhere. Male orcs of the Blackrock Clan never cut their hair until they come of age, at which point their head is shaved and their role in this extremely regimented society is determined. This ancient switchblade is forged of blackrock and embellished with jewels, likely used by a prominent family for many generations of initiation. Trivia Lore * Despite their clan names, the colors of the clans have always been red. In-game * Every member of the Blackrock, Laughing Skull and Black Tooth Grin clan in-game has gray-green, to pale gray skin. Category:Warcraft Races Category:Races